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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cap — a hat
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cap — of ice
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. club — for dancing
  12. clip — for paper
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. clip — a video
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. club — a group
  17. face — to point toward
  18. club — for golf
  19. date — the fruit
  20. face — to confront
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — part of the head
  24. leaves — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com